should I be mad?

explorer · Jul 4, 2006

I'm a recently Licensed Practical nurse and I just started a new job. Not at a hospital, but in a donation center. One of the employees at the center fell on her back and hit her head. When I got there, a medic who just started was already with her. We agreed that she should go to a hospital to be evaluated, since she recently had back surgery. One of the supervisers threw a fit and told her to get up, that she was fine. The superviser is a phlebotomist, not a nurse. The employee chose to not go to the hospital and continue working. That's her choice, I'm fine with that. I am not ok with the phlebotomist telling the employees that they are "fine" and that it was going to cost the company too much money to go to the hospital when they are hurt on the job. Am I right to be mad about the superviser/phlebotomist? Or am I overreacting?

:balloons: You were right in assuming that the nurse that fell should have gone

to the hospital to get checked out. Were does a phlebo get off in

telling a nurse what they will or won't do?:angryfire

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 4, 2006

Any employee who becomes injured on the job should be evaluated, even if they outwardly appear 'fine' or look uninjured. In my opinion, employee safety is far more important than any amount of money saved.

weezer123 · Jul 4, 2006

You are right, what did she fall over? slip on?.. and she just had back surg? or old back surg?either way, her back is probably not the best and if you fall on it -- hummmmm Lawsuit maybe,,, you gotta watch things and if you were a witness to anything.. falling ,, what other people say,,, just remember the lawyers crawling people on t.v...Did she fill out incident report at least?...and who is this phlebotomist? to make decisions?

NurseLatteDNP, MSN, DNP, RN · Jul 4, 2006

Not a company I would want to work for.

leslie :-D · Jul 4, 2006

if she ends up going out on workmans comp, it will cost the facility a heck of alot more money.....provided she did fill out an incident report.

if/when she does fill out the report, i hope she directly quotes her supervisors' orders.

there's little you can do.

it's all in the hands of the injured person.

leslie

nurse #1 · Jul 4, 2006

It is the responsibiloity of every employee to know what to do if they are injured. I am sure there is a procedure for what to do when you are injured (osha IS EVERYWHERE). It is up to the supervisor to follow organization policies. Don't waste your energy being mad- learn what the process is, so you can do the right thing at the right time.

LoriAlabamaRN · Jul 4, 2006

That supervisor just put the whole company at risk. If the employee turned out to have been seriously injured, she has a definite lawsuit. You are right to be mad! Was a report made of the fall?

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Jul 4, 2006

I'd go to the hospital and get checked out, and never return to that job again.

Jean Alice · Jul 4, 2006

The medic who saw the girl fall wrote the report.

the phlebotomist was the girl's supervisor.

The manager of the center, who was on duty, felt that the employee should go to be evaluated, as well.

I looked up the policy in our manuals, and it said that the medical superviser who arrived first is to write up a report. That was the medic.

BabyRN2Be · Jul 6, 2006

What is really scary about this is that a phlebotomist is telling a back surgery pt who also hit her head that she is fine and does not need to go to the hospital. That is not right. Where did she get her nursing degree (the phlebo)? What does she know about head injuries?

I believe that you were right to be upset, and as others have said, that is not a company I would want to work for.

Jean Alice · Jul 6, 2006

thanks, everyone. It feels better to know that I wasn't overreacting.

I'm so new at this and everything.....It just seems to me that if you get hurt on the job, you get evaluated right away. Just because the phlebo was this employees superviser, it doesn't mean she is qualified to make a call on her health. That was my feeling anyway.